A Celebrity Home That's Not on the Star Maps

By CHARLIE LeDUFF

Published: November 16, 2002

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15—
There is no question as to which is the most exclusive penthouse apartment in the City of Angels.

Among the amenities are soaps, conditioners, razors. A continental breakfast is offered; a picnic-style lunch and a warm beefsteak dinner. The pillows are feather, the complimentary slippers are canvas, the bed garments orange. There is a library and plenty of solitude. The suite occupies a corner lot, the view is unique and security is among the best in town. The bellhops dress in green and wear white gloves.

All this at the reasonable rate of $53.45 a night. But leave your wallet at the front desk. Your money is no good here; taxpayers pick up the tab.

Do not bother to call for reservations for Room 7021, for none are accepted. It is the domicile reserved wholly for men whose reputations are drifting from famous to infamous, and for a smaller circle of men whose actions are said to be so heinous even bad men despise them.

This is the Los Angeles County Jail protective custody unit. The cellblock that includes Room 7021 is known as the Hospital, as it was formerly the infirmary. Room 7021 has no name, though some officers have christened it The Heisman, after O. J. Simpson spent the better part of a year there while on trial in the murder of his former wife Nicole and her friend Ronald L. Goldman.

The guest list at Room 7021 has been an extensive one, its guardians say. Robert Blake, better known as the 1970's TV detective ''Baretta,'' now resides there, awaiting trial on murder charges stemming from the death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakely. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court denied bail to Mr. Blake, 69, until a preliminary hearing in the case next month.

Robert Downey Jr., once nominated for an Academy Award, has also spent time in Room 7021. In 1997, Mr. Downey was sentenced to 180 days in jail for repeated parole violations of a prior drug conviction.

At first, Mr. Downey was placed in the general prison population. But then he appeared in court looking like a raccoon, his forehead split open by an overzealous inmate. For his own protection and the sustained tranquillity at the Men's Central Jail, he was upgraded to Room 7021.

''This is not a hotel and we don't give celebrities special treatment,'' said Capt. Richard Adams, the man in charge of the 7,200-inmate jail, the largest under one roof in the country.

Captain Adams, whose office is decorated with plaques and paintings by Norman Rockwell, said he simply had the best interests of his inmates and his officers at heart.

''If we put these type of people in general population, will they be victimized?'' Captain Adams asked. ''Well? These guys in here will prey on them and eat them alive, so off to protective custody they go. I don't want anyone getting hurt in here.''

Among the other guests of Room 7021 have been the actors Sean Penn and Kelsey Grammer, the musicians Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe and Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots, and the comedian Richard Pryor. Richard Ramirez, the so-called Night Stalker, slept there; so did Kenneth Bianchi, half of the Hillside Strangler duo; and one of the Menendez brothers -- though guards cannot remember which.

When more than one notorious inmate is on the block, the unlucky one gets a lesser room down the hall: a cell with a slot in the door and no view of the guard booth.

Room 7021 is palatial when compared with the rest of the jailhouse. It is 8 by 10 feet and painted a clean eggshell-white. The window in the door is 9 by 9 inches. The door is solid steel, no slot. The bed is bolted to the floor and accommodates a private phone, sink and toilet. There is no graffiti and the shaving mirror has not been shattered.

The rest of the county jail is a madhouse, full of bad people with bad hygiene. Sometimes a dozen men shower together, many of whom await a bed in state prison where they will serve life sentences.

Budget cuts of $100 million to the sheriff's department mean the guest list has gotten tougher. Earlier this year, Sheriff Lee Baca closed another 1,700-bed facility and moved the men to Central Jail. To avoid overcrowding, the sheriff has suspended jail time for anyone with bail of $25,000 or less. Those sentenced to a year in prison must serve only seven months.

Jail, by definition, is for those sentenced to a year or less, are awaiting trial or a longer prison term. For the faint of heart or frail of fist, at least 10 smaller cities in the county run pay-to-stay facilities at their municipal jails. Low-risk offenders can rent cells for $50 to $150 a night. This arrangement has attracted not-so-bad-boys like the rapper Dr. Dre and the actor Christian Slater.

Suggestions about Room 7021 are not solicited. Asked Mr. Simpson's opinion of the cell, his lawyer, Yale Galanter, said, ''We're not doing that.'' Mr. Downey, a spokesman said, was unavailable for comment.

Mr. Blake has a short visitor list; this reporter was not on it. But glimpsed through the window, he seemed content enough, sleeping at noon with a towel over his face, wearing his orange jump suit and dirty socks. There were curious scrawlings taped to his wall.

Mr. Blake's publicist, Dale Olson, said the accommodations were respectable. ''They are treating him well,'' Mr. Olson said. ''No complaints about the food.''

Photos/Chart: ''Some Famous Guests'' Celebrities and other notorious inmates who have stayed at Room 7021 at the Los Angeles County jail. KENNETH BIANCHI Half of the ''Hillside Stranglers'' duo, he pleaded guilty to the murders of five Los Angeles area women in 1979. He is serving a life sentence. RICHARD RAMIREZ Known as the Night Stalker, he was found guilty of committing 13 murders between 1984 and 1985. He is awaiting execution. SEAN PENN Spent 34 days in jail in 1987 for punching an extra who tried to take his picture on a movie set. KELSEY GRAMMER Sentenced to 30 days in jail after a drunken-driving arrest in 1987. O.J. SIMPSON Arrested and charged with murder of his ex-wife and another man in 1994. He was acquitted in the criminal case. ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Has been arrested numerous times since 1996 for drug offenses. TOMMY LEE Arrested in 1998 on spousal abuse charges and sentenced to six months in jail. ROBERT BLAKE Arrested and charged with the murder of his second wife in 2002. Currently residing in Room 7021.